Former four-star ‘Bama recruit excited about WVU chance

A stint at a Mississippi junior college has renewed the competitiveness of new West Virginia wide receiver Ronald Carswell.

West Virginia coach Dana Holgorsen can only hope that the 22-year-old Carswell emerges from a crowded group of contenders to make up for the losses of standouts like Stedman Bailey, Tavon Austin and J.D. Woods. That trio combined for 309 receptions, 3748 yards and 41 touchdowns in last season alone.

Carswell was a four-star recruit who originally signed with Alabama, where he was suspended by Coach Nick Saban and eventually left the Crimson Tide program.

“I won’t say I was cocky back then,” Carswell told the Macon Telegraph. “But I was, let’s say, over confident. I didn’t think that anything bad could happen to me, and I still had a lot of growing up to do. I made some mistakes, and I paid the price.”

From there, Carswell resurfaced at tiny Itawamba Community College in Mississippi, where he regained his love for football. Carswell hopes to follow in the footsteps of previous Itawamba alums like Joe Horn, Duce Staley, Kareem Moore and Jason Ferguson as he gets a second chance in Holgorsen’s pass-happy offense.

“I couldn’t have asked for a better fit,” said Carswell, who will have three years of eligibility at WVU. “(Holgorsen) seems like he always has two receivers with 90 to 100 catches, and and they lost 80 percent of their offense from last year, so I feel like I have a great chance to step in and play. There are some advantages to being a little older than a lot of the guys. I know that I used to be a lot of flash on the field, but now I am way more aggressive.

“I am so excited about this opportunity. I came home for about four weeks, and I don’t think I wore anything but West Virginia stuff the entire time I was home. My blood is already boiling to play that first game on Aug. 31.”